AccScience Publishing / MI / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/MI025320080
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Unveiling the prevalence of macrolide resistance genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Indonesia

Ratna Fathma Sari1 ,  Yustinus Maladan1 ,  Rosantia Sarassari1 ,  Sarah Azhari Balqis1 ,  Ghina Athyah Wahid1 ,  Korrie Salsabila1 ,  Finny Fitry Yani2 ,  Ari Prayitno3 ,  Dodi Safari1*
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1 Molecular Pathogens Research Group, Eijkman Research Center for Molecular Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia
2 Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia
3 Department of Child Health, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
MI, 025320080 https://doi.org/10.36922/MI025320080
Received: 9 August 2025 | Revised: 17 December 2025 | Accepted: 3 February 2026 | Published online: 30 March 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The effectiveness of macrolides in the treatment of pneumococcal infections has been increasingly challenged by the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance mechanisms. This study aims to determine the prevalence of macrolide resistance genes (mefA and ermB) among Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from selected regions of Indonesia. A total of 703 archived S. pneumoniae isolates were screened for both genes using polymerase chain reaction. A total of 11% and 4% isolates were positive for mefA and ermB, respectively. The major serotype carrying the mefA gene was 19F (48%), followed by serotype 23F (39%). The predominant serotype containing the ermB genes was 19F (17%). The occurrence of macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae in Indonesia shows a notable pattern, with the most prominent presence observed in serotype 19F.

Keywords
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Macrolide resistance
Serotype 19F
Indonesia
Funding
This study was supported by The Rumah Program (Organisasi Riset Kesehatan Tahun 2025; grant no.: 6/III.9/HK/2025) of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Microbes & Immunity, Electronic ISSN: 3029-2883 Print ISSN: 3041-0886, Published by AccScience Publishing
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